Juan Bolivar: Geometry Wars
Juan Bolivar: Geometry Wars
Geometry Wars presents a new body of work, comprising twenty one paintings and two sculptures. Painted mostly in 'greyscale' and muted tones, Bolivar's palette presents a flipside to the witticism often associated with his paintings, reminding us, in the words of Peter Ustinov, that comedy is simply a funny way of beingserious.
The phrase Geometry Wars describes Bolivar's 'struggle with abstraction' - whether to subjugate 'the square', and present it as pure form or whether to animate it into the world of figuration.
Paintings such as Silver, 2007, exemplify Bolivar's approach. The work could resemble a reflective surface such as the window in a lighthouse; a painting of a photograph (Silver as in silver nitrate) or even a painting of a painting. It is also a geometric arrangement; and it is suggestive of the work of other abstract artists such as Elsworth Kelly or Kasimir Malevich.
The exhibition title alludes at a political resonance reflected in a number of works featuring familiar war imagery - a battleship, a plane, a watchtower and a bunker. But Bolivar also point to his concerns for pure abstraction and formalism by the inclusion of two sculptures in this exhibition. Prototype Meter - a small gold bar and Prototype Kilogram - a black (25 Kg.) weight. Here the question remains - are these props simply reminders of our systems for weight and measures, or are we to read further meanings and associations suggested by these?
Bolivar's paintings hover between the ridiculous and the sublime. They allude at other worlds beyond the picture plane such as in paintings like Bell. However under closer inspection, paintings such as Raft of the Medusa or Shack, show a battered side to modernism's promise of a new world.
Foster, Stephen A
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Foster, Stephen A
cda8c080-fbe9-4f37-b92f-1344ac2585f5
Foster, Stephen A
(2008)
Juan Bolivar: Geometry Wars.
Record type:
Art Design Item
Abstract
Geometry Wars presents a new body of work, comprising twenty one paintings and two sculptures. Painted mostly in 'greyscale' and muted tones, Bolivar's palette presents a flipside to the witticism often associated with his paintings, reminding us, in the words of Peter Ustinov, that comedy is simply a funny way of beingserious.
The phrase Geometry Wars describes Bolivar's 'struggle with abstraction' - whether to subjugate 'the square', and present it as pure form or whether to animate it into the world of figuration.
Paintings such as Silver, 2007, exemplify Bolivar's approach. The work could resemble a reflective surface such as the window in a lighthouse; a painting of a photograph (Silver as in silver nitrate) or even a painting of a painting. It is also a geometric arrangement; and it is suggestive of the work of other abstract artists such as Elsworth Kelly or Kasimir Malevich.
The exhibition title alludes at a political resonance reflected in a number of works featuring familiar war imagery - a battleship, a plane, a watchtower and a bunker. But Bolivar also point to his concerns for pure abstraction and formalism by the inclusion of two sculptures in this exhibition. Prototype Meter - a small gold bar and Prototype Kilogram - a black (25 Kg.) weight. Here the question remains - are these props simply reminders of our systems for weight and measures, or are we to read further meanings and associations suggested by these?
Bolivar's paintings hover between the ridiculous and the sublime. They allude at other worlds beyond the picture plane such as in paintings like Bell. However under closer inspection, paintings such as Raft of the Medusa or Shack, show a battered side to modernism's promise of a new world.
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Accepted/In Press date: July 2008
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 186533
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/186533
PURE UUID: 4c4bb98e-b8db-4ada-851e-80e17625a8f2
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 13 May 2011 14:01
Last modified: 10 Dec 2021 19:16
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Contributors
Curator of an exhibition:
Stephen A Foster
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